A Fair Hearing

John 7:45-52

The officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, who said to them, “Why did you not bring him?” The officers answered, “No one ever spoke like this man!” The Pharisees answered them, “Have you also been deceived? Have any of the authorities or the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd that does not know the law is accursed.” Nicodemus, who had gone to him before, and who was one of them, said to them, “Does our law judge a man without first giving him a hearing and learning what he does?” They replied, “Are you from Galilee too? Search and see that no prophet arises from Galilee.”

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Nicodemus is a fascinating character in the New Testament. In chapter three of John's account, Nicodemus has a private evening conversation with Jesus, asking him questions and getting some surprising answers. Why did they meet at night? Probably because Nicodemus was one of the Pharisees, the group of religious leaders who were largely opposed to Jesus. During this late night conversation, Nicodemus is told that he must be "born again" in order to enter God's kingdom, which seemed to confuse him. The chapter ends without a clear picture of whether Nicodemus believed Jesus or not.

Now, in chapter seven, Nicodemus reemerges. Jesus does no miracle in this chapter. He is asked by his unbelieving brothers whether he will go to the Feast in Jerusalem. We are told that Jesus is already under threat of arrest and possibly death. He goes to the Feast privately, but is drawn into open debate about his authority. John records several responses from the crowd, some of whom deny this could be the Messiah, but some are becoming convinced by both the miracles and the teaching they hear. We also read that the Pharisees attempted to have Jesus arrested at this time, but the guards actually returned empty-handed simply because his teaching was so uniquely powerful!

In response to these guards, the Pharisees are dumbfounded. Who is this man? The religious leaders don't endorse this, so why is everyone so smitten with him? They curse the crowd for being so insubordinate.

And then Nicodemus speaks up.

Little Nicodemus who has met with Jesus in private, probably for fear of his colleagues finding out that he was interested in Jesus. He spoke up and asked his fellow leaders to give Jesus a chance to speak for himself. He called them to consider that their own law did not allow an accusation without first hearing testimony. But they were not interested in fairness. They didn't even answer his reference to the law. Instead, they just berated Jesus for being a Galilean. He was different, strange, not from around here. He therefore did not deserve to even be heard.

What gets in the way of us actually hearing Jesus speak for himself. Do we give him a fair hearing? Do we buy the stereotypes that others have told us? Do we associate Jesus with some foreign culture or strange zealous cult? Do we judge him by appearances? Have we really read and researched to understand the most accurate picture possible?

Are we like the Pharisees who judged him without a hearing? Are we like Nicodemus who wanted his friends and colleagues to give him a chance? Or, if we really heard Jesus, would we be more like the officers, unable to carry out our judgment because we have never heard anything like this before?

Who are you?

Damned if you do...

Luke 7:31-35

To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like?  They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, 

"We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, and you did not weep."

For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'  The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'  Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.

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The healings of the centurion's servant and the widow's son are amazing stories in and of themselves. But Luke also uses them to introduce John's question about who this Jesus really is. Likewise, the concluding account of the immoral woman interrupting the pharisee party is a bookend example of Jesus as the "friend of sinners," a title he  took from the pharisees' misplaced accusations.

In the center of this action is the cryptic little saying quoted above, where I will now turn my attention - "we played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep." What does this mean?

Jesus uses this phrase as a way to define the generation of people before him, but this could just as easily refer to our modern era and the elemental nature of our fallen humanity. Jesus goes on to rephrase and clarify his own words - "For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, 'He has a demon.'; The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'; Yet wisdom is justified by all her children."

In other words, you hate and condemn those who live for God, whether they are ascetics like John, or free to enjoy food and drink like Jesus was during his ministry. The Pharisees were so blinded by their judgmentalism that they could condemn two men of opposite offenses without batting an eye. They were so fixed on the external trappings of religiosity that they could not see the glorious fruit of God's wisdom staring them in the face.

How do we see this happening today? In our culture of tolerance we do not always see clear examples of overt judgment like this. What we do experience on a regular basis are the silent accusations of our Enemy howling against us in often contradictory ways. In the church, we imagine our dear brothers and sisters condemning us for being either too strict or too lenient as parents. In the world, we imagine our non-believing friends either offended by our God-talk or perhaps condemning us in an imaginary hell because we did not say or do enough to bring them to Jesus. In our own minds, we are "damned if you do, or damned if you don't."

These are the illogical accusations we face from day to day. But it is the simple truth of the gospel that can quickly set us free from these earthly fears. Romans 8 tells us: "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." If we truly believe this, then we know we have been forever declared "not guilty" by the only Judge who will ever really matter. He is our hope and confidence now. In him we can stand assured. Our faith will be proved genuine, not by the petty judgments of our Enemy, but rather by the Son who took our judgment upon Himself: a wisdom that is truly justified by her children.

Loving Tax Collectors

Luke 5:30-32

And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, "Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?" And Jesus answered them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance."

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Please add verse 32 of this chapter to the "to-do list" we discussed previously. Here we find that part of Jesus' mission is to call the sick (sinners) to be healed (via repentance). This fits well with Luke 4 and the humble descriptions of those who would receive the blessings Jesus came to give. It is apparent that the religious leaders were surprised by this ministry, even though Isaiah had foretold that the messiah would have this very mission as his aim.

Chapter five describes four types of people that are representative of the "sick" who need Jesus' healing ministry: the fishermen, a leper, a paralytic, and a tax collector. The first three may be more familiar to the humble category, and Jesus' work among them is not immediately questioned. But, when he calls Levi the tax collector, and subsequently eats in his home with a whole collection of his co-workers, it is then that Jesus is openly questioned.

So, what's so radical about befriending a tax collector? It seems that men in this role were generally unpopular in this time and place, probably because they were employees of the Roman government and were the most direct representatives of that foreign power in their midst. The Jews had to pay their taxes to these men directly, which was particularly insulting to the religious leaders. The Pharisees were in fact expecting a messiah who would be a political figure - one who would overthrow the Roman oppressors, not embrace their bureaucrats and share a meal in their home!

But Jesus rightly viewed Levi for who he really was - a man made in the image of God, but in desperate need of a renewed relationship with his Maker. He was among the sick who needed a physician (I'm sure Dr. Luke was a big fan of this metaphor). Notice that Jesus does not condemn the office of tax collector. Note also from chapter 3 that the Roman soldiers who sought out John the Baptist were likewise not told to leave their government jobs, as if they were inherently unholy or displeasing to God. By referring to Levi as "sick" Jesus is describing a universal spiritual condition, but one that only few recognize in themselves.

I pray that no matter my paycheck or status or reputation in life, that I never forget my utter dependence on my gracious savior, who came to call sinners to repentance, not the righteous. I pray further that I would have the same eyes to see my neighbors in the same way, and not unwittingly fall into the judgmental elitism of the Pharisees, who thought that God's favor was for a select few. Give me a heart to love the tax collectors in my life. Amen.